Clean Sweep

Men’s track team captures triple crown

The men’s track and field team completed its first triple crown in May by winning the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The Mavericks took the cross country title in November and the indoor championship in February in their inaugural year in the Sun Belt.

The outdoor title was the ninth in UTA history and first since 2007 when the men claimed the Southland Conference crown. No SBC school had won all three sports in the same season since Western Kentucky in 2008.

“From the athletes to the coaches to the staff, it’s been a team effort all year,” coach John Sauerhage said. “We came up with clutch performances across the board. We have a group of seniors who wanted it so badly.”

UT Arlington finished with 145 points to edge Western Kentucky (138) and South Alabama (132).

All-American sprinter Clayton Vaughn paced the Mavericks. He tied for first in the 100 meters, finished second in the 200, and teamed with Christian Clark, Quentin Butler, and Cameron Newson to win the 4x100 relay.

Craig Lautenslager finished first in the 10,000 meters by more than four seconds, and Emil Blomberg won the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Sauerhage earned his own triple crown. He was named Sun Belt Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year after winning SBC coaching accolades for men’s cross country and indoor track.

“This is a team award,” he said. “This group has given its all from day one and has been so enjoyable for us to coach.”

The outdoor coaching honor was the third of Sauerhage’s 18-year career. He has amassed 25 conference coach-of-the-year awards in men’s and women’s cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track and field.